1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to article transfer mechanisms and more particularly relates to a mechanism for transferring and changing the spacing of articles from a multi-lane input conveyor to a single lane output conveyor.
2. Description of Prior Art
When transferring articles, such as chocolate coated ice cream bars, from a multi-lane frozen confection or ice cream machine to a continuously driven single lane conveyor of a wrapping machine, many problems exist with prior art devices. In many prior art devices a single transfer conveyor was used, and the speed of such conveyor was limited to a maximum of about 160 bars per minute because of excessive acceleration damage to chocolate coated bars. Also, excessive damage occurred to the chocolate coating in these prior art devices when the ice cream was transferred from the multi-lane input conveyor to the buckets of the transfer conveyor, and again when the bars were transferred, one at a time, from the buckets to the single lane output or wrapping conveyor. Furthermore, on many of the transfer mechanisms no provision was made to divert the frozen confection or ice cream bars in the event the wrapping component of the wrapping machine and the output or wrapping conveyor were stopped.
Since the preferred embodiment of the transfer mechanism is adapted to handle many different types of frozen novelties, and since it has been determined that the nature, temperature, coating, weight of the product, and other variables affect the manner in which the articles slide off the buckets into the wrapping conveyor, the present invention is directed primarily to mechanism for more reliably releasing the articles from their buckets.